Yesterday, Tri-State submitted comments opposing the deletion of a crucial item from the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council’s Transportation Improvement Program (TIP): $2.625 million in Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funding that would be granted to Nassau and Suffolk Counties over the next 3 years. The item is listed as an “innovative transit project for new bus service by private operators.”

According to CMAQ guidelines, Nassau County could use these funds to support “the incremental cost of expanding existing transit services,” which means that Nassau could use the funds to mitigate the April 8 cuts that impacted 60% of routes in the county. While the CMAQ funding would not be sufficient to fully restore service on all routes, the money could be used to reinstate some service on higher ridership routes or those in areas that now have little service remaining.

Similarly, Suffolk County could use the CMAQ funds to help pay for “new transit services,” which is also an appropriate use of CMAQ funding. Coupled with the revenues to be generated by a May 1 Suffolk County Transit fare hike and increased operating assistance from New York State, the CMAQ funds could allow the county to add Sunday service to its routes.

In an era of limited resources, local governments can’t afford to turn down money that would allow them to meet the growing demand for transit service.